The Bachelorette finale featured the astonishing ending viewers have been waiting for in which Hannah Brown accepted a marriage proposal from Jed Wyatt, dumped him over an ex-girlfriend's allegations, and then asked her runner-up Tyler Cameron out on a date!
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"The shocking conclusion to Hannah's journey to find love is one that nobody could've seen coming -- not Hannah, not even me. Tonight, we will witness great love, incredible trust, and unfortunately, the massive destructive forces of lies and betrayal," Chris revealed live in studio.
"We'll also see a proposal, that in retrospect, can only be described as cringeworthy. I hope you're ready, Bachelor Nation."
Pre-taped footage then played of Hannah waking up in bed on the morning of her Final Rose Ceremony in Crete, Greece. She said she had changed a lot and showed every layer of herself to her Final 2 men -- the good and the bad.
Hannah said she used to be dependent on others and desperate for reassurance and validation, given she never felt like she was enough, but now she had a whole different mindset of who she is and what she needs in life.
"I don't need a man in my life, but I want one to experience the full life that I have with me," Hannah told the cameras. "The unknown is still there, but hopefully I'll have somebody to hold my hand through it."
Hannah then explained why she was so drawn to Tyler and Jed, as the two guys were shown picking out a Neil Lane diamond engagement ring one by one.
Hannah said Tyler put her first and made her feel strong. Hannah thought Tyler would make her feel secure in the fact they'd have a happy life together.
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With Jed, Hannah explained he's a man she could talk to for hours and hours but also be super silly with. Hannah felt Jed was as honest with her as she was with him, and that's exactly what she wanted in a life partner.
Hannah admitted this was "the hardest decision of [her] life" because a life with Tyler would be so different from a life with Jed. She was "conflicted" in her heart and unfortunately didn't have clarity heading into the Final Rose Ceremony.
RELATED LINK: 'THE BACHELORETTE' COUPLES NOW"I don't not want to be 100 percent sure and then make the wrong decision," Hannah told the cameras.
Hannah dumps Tyler
On Hannah's way to the Final Rose Ceremony in her beautiful white, sequin gown, she appeared to have a panic attack and asked her driver to stop the car. She exited the vehicle, walked down the street, tripped and fell."I really can't do this," Hannah vented to a producer.
But after taking a few moments to compose herself, Hannah said she was ready. Hannah said it was a weird feeling to have to break someone's heart but also be starting her future with a man she loved.
"The man I have to end things with today is not going to expect it," Hannah said.
Tyler then approached the Final Rose Ceremony first, and he told Chris he was doing "amazing" and was "so excited." Tyler felt his love for Hannah was a forever type of love, and he felt so confident in his relationship with Hannah.
"The future holds for us a love and a bond that will never break. That's it... I want her more than anything I've ever wanted in my entire life. She's the girl of my dreams," Tyler told the cameras.
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Tyler told Hannah that she had captivated his soul and made him into the man he wanted to be. He said he had grown emotionally, spiritually and so much in love.
"I know our love was slow to start, but it's a light that will burn forever," Tyler told Hannah, adding that he fell in love with her when they danced on their first date.
But then Hannah interrupted Tyler, and her silence broke the news that he was not going to be her final pick.
"This isn't it?" Tyler asked with tears in his eyes.
"I am so lucky to be loved by you and to feel that. You have supported me, you've been so sweet and strong for me... and loved me so much. And my life with you would be amazing, and when I told you I was falling in love with you, I meant it. But I love someone else," Hannah admitted. "I'm so sorry."
Tyler told Hannah that she hurt him but he'd continue to be her biggest fan and said he wished nothing but the best for her and Jed.
"I wish you a perfect success with Jed. You guys will be great," Tyler told her.
Hannah then walked Tyler out, and they were both trying to maintain their composure and stay strong.
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"I thought this was it. It feels like a million upper cuts to the gut right now. I've never been one to be able to open up, and it really took Hannah to pull it out of me," Tyler said following his ouster, holding back his tears.
"And I realized how amazing it feels to be open. These feelings I've had, I haven't had for anyone, this strong, you know? I'm hurt. I thought I was [for] Hannah, but that's not the case."
Hannah gets engaged to Jed
It broke Hannah's heart to know that she broke Tyler's heart, but Hannah gushed about how she had clarity and felt at peace.ADVERTISEMENT
Jed then approached Hannah with his guitar and told her the light inside of her was brighter than he ever could have imagined and he had gotten to know the deepest part of her. Jed said he never thought he could love someone so much and so fast when his partner was still unsure.
Jed told Hannah, "I love you," and then admitted talking was hard for him at times -- so he felt it would be appropriate to play her a song. Jed's song was about how time stood still for them and the special moments they shared together.
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Hannah told Jed that she had always prayed for her future husband as a little girl and God apparently let her go through struggles and heartbreak in life because she was leading her to this moment with Jed.
"I've been praying for you. You supported me, you loved me, you challenged me, you've moved me, and it's made me love you so, so much. I am in complete love with you. I love you, Jed Wyatt," Hannah said.
"I have lived 25 years without you," Jed replied, "and I don't want to go another day of my life without you being my wife."
Jed then got down on one knee and proposed marriage to Hannah.
"Will you marry me?" he asked.
"Yes!" Hannah replied with glee before wrapping her arms around Jed's neck. "I love you."
Hannah admired her oval-cut ring and the pair kept saying, "Oh my gosh," to each other as they hugged and kissed. And finally, Jed accepted Hannah's final rose and the couple yelled, "We're engaged."
Hannah learns Jed had a girlfriend back home
Although Hannah thought she had found the man of her dreams and her soul mate, Chris Harrison teased fans were about to witness "a story of "broken promises and broken hearts" and that Jed was about to "face the music."ADVERTISEMENT
Hannah said she was wrong in assuming what they had was "so real."
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"The second night after we got engaged, Jed tells me he had been hanging out with this girl before he left to come on the show. I said, 'When was this?' And I remember him saying, 'A week before the show.' I was like, 'Okay, so you broke it off?' He said, 'Yes,' and told me it was nothing," Hannah explained.
Although that was hard to hear, Hannah said she had attempted to let it go because it's not abnormal for guys to go on dates before filming a reality show. But then a few weeks later, a People magazine article came out, telling a different story than what the country singer had told her about his ex.
"The article said that he didn't really end the relationship before he came here," Hannah recalled.
"The extent of that and what was withheld from me after I already said yes is not okay. Jed has muddied the waters of our future together, and it's not what I thought I said yes to."
Hannah then shared how devastating this news really was to her.
"This last week has been the hardest week of me either screaming or crying or falling to my knees, not knowing what to do. I don't know how I feel about Jed at this point. I love the person I got engaged to. I don't know what I feel about this person," Hannah said.
Jed attempts to explain himself to Hannah
Footage then played of Jed and Hannah meeting in a house to have "a really important conversation."When the pair sat down together, Hannah didn't know where to start. Hannah was upset Jed let her find out what actually happened from someone else -- after so much time had elapsed.
"Because there's two very different views of what actually happened, so I guess I'll start with that," Jed said.
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Hannah asked Jed to be blunt about what their hangout sessions would entail, and Jed said they had dinner together, had sex, watched a movie, probably had sex again etc.
Jed said he was still hooking up with other women at the time but he and the woman enjoyed a trip together to Gatlinburg in Tennessee, where they had stayed in a cabin alone. Jed said the cabin was located near his parents' home and so it was a good opportunity for the woman in question to meet them.
Jed said the woman subsequently planned him a surprise birthday party in January with all of his friends and her parents allegedly bought him a vacation to The Bahamas as a gift. The day of the vacation was ironically on "her birthday," Jed said of his ex.
Hannah couldn't believe Jed didn't consider this exclusive dating, but he continued to tell his side of the story anyway.
"After my birthday, a few weeks go by, and we go on this trip. A few days before we leave, I got asked if I'd be interested in the show. I tell her and she's obviously sad, but she was also excited. I was thrown off because I think it's not logical to continue hanging out with somebody who's considering doing a dating show," Jed explained.
"In my mind, I was going [on The Bachelorette] for a music thing."
Hannah told Jed that he probably kept reassuring the woman that he was just going on the show to promote his career.
"I know this is what happened!" Hannah yelled.
"Yeah, I told her, like, 'This is going to be a really good thing for music. This is it. I highly, highly doubt this is going to actually ever be a relationship -- like I'll go in there and actually like someone," Jed said.
"When you said you were coming for music, I thought, 'Oh, he doesn't know what this is about,' not knowing it was like a conversation all the time with another girl you were talking to. That makes it totally different," Hannah responded.
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Jed explained the girl was upset he was leaving and so he drunkenly told her that he loved her.
"When I said it, it didn't feel right, and I knew it was a mistake because I was leaving," Jed noted.
Hannah told Jed that he acted selfishly in every way, and Jed agreed. He then said that when he left to film The Bachelorette, that was his goodbye to the woman, even though "it wasn't a proper goodbye."
Jed admitted he didn't handle the situation well and he had ended the relationship in his heart but not verbally.
Hannah argued, however, Jed didn't end the relationship at all. Instead, he told the woman that he loved her before taping commenced.
"What do those words mean to you?!" Hannah asked.
"I didn't know until I met you. I was just on a different page than her," Jed said, adding that he tossed around three powerful words.
Hannah added that Jed had slept with the woman the night before he left for the show.
Hannah also pointed out she was embarrassed because one night after she had stayed with Jed in Nashville after taping wrapped, she had received photos via text message showing two women in Jed's apartment in Nashville.
"Yeah, we didn't even know who they were," Jed said.
"Well, you threw them in a pool," Hannah noted.
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Hannah said everything Jed did affected her because they were engaged. Hannah said he shouldn't allow women to come to his apartment or he at least should have told her about the gathering afterwards.
Hannah got angry and said the situation sucked. She felt "betrayed" and questioned how he'd ever be ready to be engaged. Hannah said she felt like Jed was using her and their relationship to be noticed and for his music.
"I don't want you to feel that way, so what can I do?... What would demonstrate otherwise?" he asked.
"I don't know," Hannah replied, before leaving the room to get some air.
Jed told Hannah that she was everything he ever wanted and he was telling the truth. Jed said he'd do anything to keep Hannah, but she needed 100% honesty from him.
Jed insisted he didn't have a girlfriend before he left the show but it was sh-tty of him not to tell Hannah about the woman in his past earlier.
"The reason I held back details I did was because I was scared that if I told you, you would walk away from me. And that's the most coward thing to hear, I know, but that's the truth. I am so not proud of it," Jed told Hannah.
Jed then started to cry and said he had done a lot of soul-searching on the show, but Hannah was also offended he had told his family and friends he "won" once he got home from filming.
Hannah began questioning everything about Jed, especially his intentions. She said it finally made sense why his family was so "skeptical" of his alleged desire to settle down and get engaged.
Jed said he stopped himself from telling Hannah the truth every time because he didn't want to lose her. Jed told Hannah that she made him want to be a better person, but she said one becomes a better person by being dishonest.
"I feel like this experience has been taken away from me... I was being told half-truths and lies. You wanted me to have clarity, but clarity means truth... I didn't get to see all of you," Hannah told Jed.
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Jed said he had allowed himself to dwell in a lifestyle that hurt everyone around him but he didn't want to hurt Hannah -- the person he allegedly truly loved.
"I want to be better for you and for me. I want to be somebody you're proud of, Hannah," Jed told her.
Hannah was mad and said her engagement didn't mean the same thing to her anymore. She then took off her engagement ring and handed it back to Jed.
"This isn't what I said 'yes' to," Hannah said.
"We spent two months together and we got engaged, and the person I became through that timespan is clearly who you wanted because you said 'yes,'" Jed told her.
But Hannah told Jed that she didn't know whether she wanted to be with him anymore.
Hannah reveals she dumped Jed
Hannah was then shown joining Chris Harrison live in studio with a big audience cheering her on. Hannah couldn't believe her journey had taken this dramatic turn.She recalled to Chris how one day after the People article came out, she and Jed visited with each other. Hannah -- who didn't have the article in hand -- asked Jed if he had anything to tell her.
Hannah said she peppered Jed with questions and he ended up revealing at the time the woman in question was not his girlfriend but he did say, "I love you," a few times.
Hannah had the People article sent to her shortly afterwards and she found herself circling things in the article and sending them to her then-fiance.
Hannah had a very difficult few weeks, and she admitted her whole life just "caved in" and everything she thought was true and real wasn't.
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Hannah then confirmed what fans have been waiting to learn.
"I am not with Jed anymore," Hannah revealed. "The engagement is over. We are not together. It's just, that is not what I said 'yes' to."
Hannah said Jed is not the man whom she wants in a future partner and husband because their relationship was not built on truth and honesty.
Jed attempts to explain himself again
The pair apparently broke up over the phone and so they reunited for the first time since then on The Bachelorette finale.Chris gave Jed a chance to speak first once they reunited, and he apologized to Hannah from the bottom of his heart. Jed said after reviewing his past behavior to Hannah and other people, he fully sees he wasn't the best he can be.
Jed told Hannah that hiding details from his past ruined what they had, but he had never expected to find a real love with someone on a reality TV show.
Jed apologized for taking Hannah's experience away from her, and he also said "sorry" to her friends, family, and Bachelor Nation.
"I am responsible for this; I will own up to it all day. When I was reached out to about doing the show, I just never would have dreamed that I would meet the person I wanted to spend the rest of my life with -- on a reality TV show," Jed explained.
"I never would have fathomed it. I wish I knew more about it when I showed up, but I didn't."
Jed admitted he was not upfront with Hannah about his ex-girlfriend because he had acted out of fear, not out of love and respect for Hannah. Jed was afraid of how the details would be perceived, and he said it was his fault his ex didn't have closure.
"I held out because I was scared to lose you," Jed confessed.
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Hannah told Jed that what he did was not good or right but she had fallen in love with a person somewhere inside of him.
"I know that person is in there, and I just hope that from this, you'll be honest and learn and grow into the man I know you can be for whoever in your future," Hannah told him.
Despite their breakup, Jed revealed he felt the same about Hannah as he did when he got down on one knee.
Jed never fathomed he would fall in love -- and to the level in which he was in love -- on The Bachelorette. He discussed building a home and having a family with Hannah, and Jed said he never anticipated that happening in his wildest dreams.
Jed said he regrets his decisions so much and wishes he could change the past.
"My love for you, I don't think it will ever leave me. It's just something that's there to stay... [and] I always will be [in love with her]," Jed shared.
Hannah, however, told the country singer in turn her feelings about him "have changed."
Hannah insisted she wasn't trying to punish or hurt Jed but when the trust was broken in their relationship, her feelings dissipated and were broken right along with it.
"I don't love you like that anymore. And it's not something to clap about. It's sad," Hannah said, adding that a relationship can't be built on lies and she'd never feel confident about their connection again.
Jed told Hannah in reply that she deserved the world and deserved to be happy, even if it's with another man.
"I'm really proud of the woman I have become through this, because I am hella strong!" Hannah announced.
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Hannah asks Tyler out on a date!
Before Tyler and Hannah were reunited, Hannah admitted she had really struggled with her final decision."I've been really grieving that relationship," Hannah said of Tyler. "Those feelings just didn't go away."
Hannah had this mischievous look on her face that led Chris to believe the Bachelorette might want a second chance with her runner-up.
When Tyler came out, the live studio audience went crazy. Fans could be heard screaming and gushing about how Tyler looked so hot, but Tyler apparently only had eyes for Hannah.
"You look amazing," Tyler told Hannah, adding that he was looking forward to this day because he was so proud of her watching her season back.
"Just seeing you be so powerful and strong... [I] was rooting you on," Tyler told her.
When Chris asked Tyler to share his thoughts on watching Hannah's breakup with Jed, Tyler said he was surprised because he had assumed Hannah was going to be in good hands.
"It's tough to see her go through what she's gone through, but she's a fighter. She's one of the strongest people I've ever met, so I know she'll bounce back. The world is hers," Tyler told Chris.
Tyler then recalled the day he was planning to propose marriage to Hannah in Greece, revealing he had thrown up in the morning because he was "so nervous" but "so ready to take that next step" with her.
Hannah was all smiles and told Tyler he had been supportive and respectful of her, both during their journey together and afterwards.
"Our relationship was real to me and special," Hannah said. "Everything I said, I meant and I felt. And it didn't just go away, and I still have feelings."
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"I'm really confident in who I am now and being on my own and growing and really taking everything I've learned and what I want in a next relationship. But I don't know, oh God! Yeah, I want somebody to be bold, and I'm bold. And I make bold moves," Hannah began.
Hannah then looked at Tyler and said, "You're an incredible guy, and I'm a single girl. So, I don't know. I just thought maybe we could go for a drink and just hang out."
Tyler sweetly replied with a big smile, "I would love to, just tell me when. I'm there."
Hannah confirmed she had just asked Tyler out on a date -- with no horses -- but they'd just enjoy each other's company with no pressure and have a drink.
"Take it one step at a time... [We'll] catch up. It's been a while," Tyler noted.
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About The Author: Elizabeth Kwiatkowski
